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Spcs. Gustavo and Katrina De La Victoria returned home to Lacey on Saturday after spending the first 15 months of their marriage in Iraq.
They’re eager to start a life together in a more relaxed setting – one without constant worry about the other’s safety.
“Privacy as a married couple: That’s the biggest thing we’re looking forward to,” said Gustavo De La Victoria, 24.
The couple are among a wave of about 3,600 soldiers with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division – the Stryker Brigade Combat Team – who are returning to Fort Lewis this month and next after 15 months in combat.
While other families relied on phone conversations, photographs and TV images to learn what life was like for their spouses, the De La Victorias share a common experience.
They had similar jobs: She drove trucks, and he fueled and drove them. And they had the added support of serving with Katrina’s father, Sgt. 1st Class Michael Hawkins. The three served in the 269th Brigade Support Battalion, a subordinate unit of one of the two Stryker brigades serving in and around Baghdad.
That meant Joyce Hawkins had to worry about her husband, her daughter and her son-in-law as they served in Iraq. But it was a comfort knowing they were there for one another, she said.
Michael Hawkins, 47, returned in August, and Saturday the entire family relaxed and laughed at the Hawkins’ home in Lacey. They were together for the first time since June 2006, when Michael Hawkins deployed.
They talked about what it’s like to adjust to civilian life. Gustavo De La Victoria, who returned from his second tour, said the hardest part is “slowing down.”
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